2016 100 Most Romantic Restaurants in America

As we celebrate love and romance in honor of Valentine’s Day, we are pleased to announce the 100 Most Romantic Restaurants in America for 2016. These awards reflect the combined opinions of more than 5 million restaurant reviews submitted by verified OpenTable diners for more than 20,000 restaurants in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Featuring beloved restaurants adept at delivering hospitality with a personal touch, often from owner-operators, the complete list spans 33 states and includes honorees such as The Cellars in Virginia Beach, Forbes Island in San Francisco, and Zenkichi in Brooklyn. California has 15 winning restaurants, followed by New York and Virginia with 8 apiece, Colorado with 7, and Arizona, Florida, and Texas with six each. Hawaii and Nevada each have five winners while North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina each boast four. Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, Nebraska, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Washington count two winners per state. Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Utah are also represented.

Exceptional ambience is the common thread at the winning restaurants, from those set in historic buildings, such as the Rainbow Room atop 30 Rockefeller Center, to those associated with cozy inns and luxe resorts, including Duling Kurtz House and Tidepools at the Grand Hyatt Kauai. Establishments serving American and French cuisines dominate the list; however, Italian restaurants and steakhouses also proved popular, as did those specializing in perennial favorite fondue.

The list of the 100 Most Romantic Restaurants in America is generated from more than 5 million restaurant reviews collected from verified OpenTable diners between December 7, 2014, and December 6, 2015. All restaurants with a minimum “overall” score and number of qualifying reviews were then sorted according to Qualifying restaurants were then scored and sorted according to the percentage of qualifying reviews for which “romantic” was selected as a special feature. “

Based on this methodology, the following restaurants, listed in alphabetical order, comprise the 2016 100 Most Romantic Restaurants in America, according to OpenTable diners:

I used to live in Michigan and the English Inn was my all-time favorite restaurant ever! Beautiful restaurant, beautiful grounds on the Grand River, and the food and service are amazing. I live in Colorado now but anytime I ever go back I always go to the English Inn!

We ate at Mama’s yesterday. It was the best meal of my life! I agree with Robert! The view was spectacular and our waiter, Brad, was attentive and very knowledgeable about the ingredients of the menu and the preparations. We used Open Table to make the reservation and may even go back later in the week.

The cellar in daytona beach was very good. My wife ordered a rabbit Alfredo and I had duck and pheasant with drinks and a salad. The history of the house is amazing and the food was excellent. Make sure to bring money because it is spendy.

[…] a memorable meal, reserve a table at The Cellars, one of the most romantic restaurants in America, according to OpenTable diners. The restaurant serves French country cuisine with a Southern touch and is located in a 1860s-era […]

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Caroline Potter is the Chief Dining Officer for OpenTable, Inc. She’s a dining trend-spotter and an OpenTable VIP, who dines out more than she eats in and has accrued more than 10,000 Dining Rewards points. Caroline started working in restaurants as a teen and she's since tackled every front-of-the-house job, from bartender and hostess to runner and server. She trained as a chef at Manhattan’s prestigious French Culinary Institute, cooking at L’Ecole. In addition to her role at OpenTable, she has written about food from farm to table for New York City’s famed Greenmarket and Edible Brooklyn and Edible East End magazines. Caroline is also a Certified Master Gardener.